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According to information released by the portal Olhar Digital & InfoMoney, GameStop has formalized a US$ 55.5 billion (R$ 275 billion) bid to acquire eBay, a move that marks the video game retailer’s attempt to become a direct competitor to Amazon in global e-commerce. The offer stipulates US$ 125 per share, a 20% premium over the last closing price. CEO Ryan Cohen plans to use GameStop’s 1,600 physical stores as logistics centers, eliminate US$ 2 billion in annual costs in the first year, and invest in live commerce. eBay’s shares rose more than 13% after the announcement.
GameStop has just made the boldest move in American retail history: it put US$ 55.5 billion (R$ 275 billion) on the table to buy eBay and create an operation capable of directly challenging Amazon in global e-commerce. The offer, announced this Sunday (3), stipulates a payment of US$ 125 per share, divided between cash and GameStop stock, which represents a 20% premium over the last market closing. CEO Ryan Cohen signaled that he is prepared to take the dispute directly to shareholders if eBay‘s board does not agree to negotiate.
The move seems disproportionate at first glance, and the numbers confirm its audacity. eBay is valued at US$ 46 billion (R$ 228 billion), while GameStop is worth approximately US$ 12 billion (R$ 59 billion). To make the deal feasible, the company intends to use US$ 9.4 billion from its cash reserves and has already obtained a commitment letter from TD Bank for US$ 20 billion in debt financing. The financial engineering is complex, but Cohen has built a reputation for executing the improbable since he founded Chewy, a pet product platform that challenged Amazon itself.
The plan to transform 1,600 stores into logistics centers
The unique aspect of the proposal lies in what GameStop can do with eBay that no other buyer could. The network has 1,600 physical stores in the United States that would function as product pickup, shipping, and authentication points, creating a logistics network that eBay has never had and that directly competes with Amazon‘s distribution centers. The synergy between the companies is especially strong in niche markets such as collectible cards and retro items.
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For the eBay seller who currently relies on the Post Office or carriers to ship their products, having a GameStop physical store around the corner changes the equation. The buyer can pick up the product on the same day, the seller saves on shipping, and the platform gains in delivery speed, an attribute that Amazon transformed into an almost unbeatable competitive advantage with the Prime program. GameStop wants to replicate this experience using existing infrastructure that currently operates below capacity.
The R$ 10 billion cost cut in the first year
Cohen‘s management plans to eliminate US$ 2 billion (R$ 10 billion) in annual costs in the very first year after the integration of operations. This amount is aggressive and represents almost one-fifth of the combined revenue of the two companies, indicating that the merger would involve deep restructuring with the elimination of redundancies in technology, marketing, customer service, and administration.
Cohen‘s experience at Chewy suggests that the cost-cutting is not a bluff. He built the company from US$ 0 to US$ 4 billion in revenue in six years, competing with Amazon in the pet market, and then applied the same financial discipline to GameStop, which went from a company on the brink of bankruptcy to a company with US$ 9.4 billion in cash. The question is whether the same approach works in a merger of this magnitude, where operational complexity is exponentially greater.
The live commerce that could revolutionize the platform
Beyond financial austerity, the plan includes investment in live commerce, a sales model through live video broadcasts that already moves hundreds of billions of dollars in China and is starting to gain traction in the United States. The idea is to transform eBay from a static marketplace into an interactive platform where sellers present products in real-time, answer questions, and close deals during the broadcast.
Live commerce combines entertainment with shopping and generates significantly higher conversion rates than traditional e-commerce. For eBay, which historically relies on auctions and product listings, the transition to live sales would modernize the experience and attract a generation of buyers who grew up watching streamers on YouTube and Twitch. GameStop, with its base of video game fans accustomed to live streams, has the cultural DNA to lead this transformation.
The market reaction and what investors think
The response was immediate: eBay shares rose more than 13% after hours following the announcement of GameStop’s offer. The 20% premium over the last closing price indicates that the market considers the proposal credible enough to move the stock, even if many analysts deem the merger unlikely due to the size difference between the companies.
Cohen’s strategy began before the public announcement. GameStop quietly started buying eBay shares on February 4th and accumulated a 5% stake, a threshold that mandates regulatory disclosure and positions the company as a significant shareholder regardless of the offer’s outcome. If eBay’s board rejects the proposal, Cohen threatens a proxy fight, taking the case directly to shareholders to vote on the merger.
What the merger would mean for global e-commerce
If GameStop manages to buy eBay, the combined operation would create the second-largest marketplace in the United States, behind only Amazon. The platform would have eBay’s seller base, GameStop’s network of physical stores, and the cash to invest in technology and logistics, a combination that no current e-commerce competitor possesses. Cohen’s projection is that the merger could raise the marketplace’s value to hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming years.
For consumers, the competition would be positive. An eBay supercharged with physical logistics and live sales would force Amazon to respond with lower prices, faster deliveries, or services it doesn’t currently offer. The e-commerce market in the United States moves over US$1 trillion per year, and any competitor that takes market share from Amazon redistributes value to sellers and buyers. The question is whether GameStop, a company that sold used video games five years ago, can truly execute a US$55.5 billion merger.
Do you believe GameStop can buy eBay and take on Amazon, or do you think this proposal is too bold for a company that used to sell used games? Tell us in the comments what you think about the merger and if you would use an eBay with physical stores for product pickup.
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